The Revelation of Radric Davis
By Zach

I await for the next arrivals to come inside my tent. On the last haul ten men were delivered on stretchers, all of them fatally injured. A man walks in with someone with a bullet to the arm. The medics tried to save him but it was very severe and the man passed on. Tomorrow I will hold a service for him. He served nobly in the Continental Army. The army is a dangerous place. Much like the war, the day is cold. My brother and I joined a couple months back. My whole life is based around the end of others. I serve God but sometimes I fear as if my work is changing me. Each day is another funeral for me to host. I guess as long as I’m serving God then I’m on the right path.
My name is Radric Davis. As a lad I spent much time inside the church. My father was a farmer and for most of my life I thought I was too– until I had a revelation it seemed God himself had planned for me. If I were to become a minister, God would set me on the right path. I had no idea that I would be a minister in the Continental Army.
For most of my life I was a normal Protestant minister, until one day, when soldiers came by looking for volunteers for the army. Later that day I was looking at the river and I looked up from the Bible I was reading. I watched a majestic bird fly down to catch its prey. It stopped right in front of me and spit out a fish. It was trout, my favorite kind. “Could this be a sign?” I thought. I stepped toward the fish and examined it. This fish had obviously been dead for weeks, but nothing up to this point had even remotely scraped it. On its left finn it had a cross on it. I didn’t know what this meant but I knew it was meant for me. I got up from the river bank and closed my Bible. Slowly I walked back down to the windy road until I found myself in town again. I greeted the soldiers on their way out of our little community. It hit me, God wanted me to go carry on his blessing for the fallen soldiers. I called out to the nearest one “wait” in the loudest voice I could possibly conjure up. The soldier said “What?” in a strong but irritated voice. After all, they were only able to get twelve volunteers from my frail little town. “I would like to join your regiment, for God has sent me a message and I believe you are in need of a minister.” The man had a stern look on his face. I took a few steps forward still not entirely sure what I was about to get myself into. The soldier studied every step that I took with caution. I jumped onto a horse and we were on our way.
It felt like yesterday even though it was three years ago. I have watched my friends pass on in right in front of me. This war changed me, for the better or for the worse? What did God want for me here? What is my purpose? Was I meant to see all of these deaths? Those are the questions I ask myself each day. Will I ever see my Mom and Dad ever again? Have they passed? I look to my right and to see a bird fly down and look up towards me. I look to my left and see a whole flock of birds. The bird flies back into the flock and all of the other birds look almost happy. What if I was sent here to appreciate my family?
I ran back into my tent, gathered my stuff and snuck away. I was just about to leave the fort when I saw the general. He looked at me with tears in his eyes, “Radric run.” My legs were stiff with fear. That’s when I saw my life flash before my eyes. The farm, My family, my friends, but there was one thing that was inconsistent with all the rest. My family was slowly fading away. “What does all of this mean” I thought. Suddenly I started getting cold. I looked down to see my leg with a bullet inside. I tumbled onto the ground. I took my hands and pulled my whole body forward. I found myself behind the medics tent. I was lifted into the tent. “I’m saved” I thought to myself. Just as the door flap was closing I took a bullet to the head. I looked up to see that same soldier from all those years ago. He said to me, “The war isn’t meant for everybody.” Those were the last words I heard on Earth. My soul slowly started to fade as the soldier propped me up.
I looked up and saw a bright light. I could see the outline of a big hand. “Is this God?” I thought to myself. My body started disappearing. That’s when I remembered if your body is severed in anyway after death than you will not be granted entry to heaven. Everything started to fade. I was in complete darkness.
A few scavengers found my body weeks later. Radric was buried with a gravestone and standard coffin. His body was delivered back to his hometown in which he was buried in the cemetery by the church.